If My Triple Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Could Talk

Yes, I know that desserts can’t talk. Imagine though if they could. Can you believe the stories they would tell? I mean it would be like revisiting old memories and “hush, hush” details that remain in the kitchen or on the worn-down recipe card you finally got your hands on. Nowadays, that same recipe card would be embellished by the next generation, uploaded to social media, and shared and pinned multiple times.

So, what would my cheesecake tell you behind doors? Would it tell you how it came to be? Or how it didn’t start off being mine and did not have such a fancy title? Would it tell you about the times when I was in over my head as a wife and mom? Would it tell you about the joy that it brought people? It might even if only quietly, tell you about the time I decided not to make it because my heart was filled with grief that year. Maybe. I guess it is up to me to share how this dessert became such a staple in my family and life.

The first time I tried a pumpkin cheesecake was on Thanksgiving Day when I was a teenager.

My grandpa’s three sisters, affectionately known as “The Golden Girls,” all lived together in a beautiful home in Temecula, California. This particular Thanksgiving, they were hosting the feast, which was a real treat for our family! My Great Aunts had led adventurous lives! They had a world map with pins and strings all over it, marking the places they had traveled to. I was fascinated with the love and adventures they shared every time we visited!

They expressed their love of people and different cultures by the attention to detail they placed on the menu, fine china, and table settings. They were as entertaining as they were prim and proper.

“The Golden Girls” were also as different as can be, so that led to many lively discussions among them.

Aunt Dorothy was only four feet tall and sweet as can be. My cousins and I could hardly believe that she had been a Sargent in the Army!  By contrast, Aunt Georgia was tall, regal, and one of the most elegant women I’ve ever known. She also was very kind, and people were drawn to her by the questions she asked. My Aunt Gloria had her own place in this world and in my heart. She was funny, energetic, and feisty as her red hair. She loved playing golf and enjoyed delighting us all with her baking.

I remember how excited she was telling me and my mom about the delicious double layer pumpkin cheesecake she had made for everyone. She couldn’t wait for us to taste it! You can imagine the spread that went with the golden turkey, but all I could think about was trying her pumpkin cheesecake!

Years went by, I went to college and then married my best friend, the love of my life!  We rented an apartment by the beach that was only 10 minutes away from Disneyland. As a newlywed, I found myself asking my mom what I should bring for our first Thanksgiving. She suggested I make Aunt Gloria’s pumpkin cheesecake. She had saved her recipe after Aunt Gloria had passed away.

“I thank my God every time I remember you”

I was both honored and nervous but “did my best and left the rest to God.”

I chose to make it in a pie dish. I felt so proud when my sweet mother-in-law complimented me on it! It was such a hit that it soon became a tradition. So just as I had baked it in our tiny little apartment kitchen, I naturally made it in the first beautiful home that we soon filled with a puppy and three babies. 

Each year I would take notes on how to simplify the process and recipe because everyone wanted it. I told one sweet lady in my church choir that I could make it for her but that I couldn’t give it to her. It had started as Aunt Gloria’s recipe, but over the years, just like my motherhood, I made it my own. The sweet, thin, double layer cheesecake that was once made in a pie dish had found itself now more robust, made in a fancy spring-form pan, and did not have just a dollop of whip cream on top. Nope.

It had an exquisite piped whip cream layer that made my eyes gleam and heart sing!

I finally shared the recipe with my sister-in-law and Grandma one Christmas. It was beautifully packaged with a hand-written recipe card, spring-form pan, and the ingredients to make it. I could never have guessed what their first reaction would be. “Does this mean we have to make it now?!”

Oh my gosh! I laughed so hard, I could cry! 🙂

Well, I invite you to try out this recipe and let me know what you think. I can’t wait to hear the stories that will come from your kitchen baking this for your family and friends. Believe me, you might end up baking it more than once over the holidays! Yes! It’s that good!

(It’s also very simple to make! If I can do it, so can you!)

May God’s abounding love be with you throughout the holidays!